What you need to know
- A Google community manager brought awareness to a channel outage affecting several major free channels, like Telemundo, CBS, and the CW.
- Users confirmed the outage, but also stated that issues had been happening since February 10, one day prior to Google's awareness.
- A YouTube TV member stated a few issues were "fixed" for CBS channels; however, the official post has yet to double down.
- YouTube detailed its "big bets" for 2025, which include going all-in on TVs which have become the primary avenue for users to watch content.
Users tuning into YouTube TV's live channels are noticing a few notable offerings are missing, but it looks like the company is on it.
A Google community manager highlighted several of YouTube TV's usual free channel providers are suffering issues on the platform (via 9to5Google). According to the post, the outage affects channels provided by Telemundo, CBS, and the CW. These issues have disrupted TV viewing for users from the east to the west coast.
Users chimed in, interacting with Google's official post, confirming the problem further. However, some users reported that the issues started well before Google jumped on it. The post went up toward the evening of February 11, yet one user claims the problems (for them) began one day prior.
Another user with access to KOTV-DT in the Oklahoma region reported the channel's outage began yesterday morning.
Curiously, the folks at 9to5 spotted an update by a YouTube TV member on Reddit, stating "This has been fixed. Let me know if you're still having issues." This was in response to a user who was trying to access CBS but could not. The YouTube TV member's update was shared early this morning, yet the official Google post has not been updated — which it said it would.
For now, continue to check to see if you can access the following Telemundo, CBS, and CW channels involved in the outage:
- KOTVDT
- KQCWDT
- KXGN
- WNOLDT
- KGWN
- WTVRDT
- KXLH
- WWTV
- WFQXDT2
- WDNI
Hopefully, these issues will be corrected soon as YouTube laid out its plans to continue its TV presence in a recent blog post. The platform turned 20 years old and to celebrate, it detailed what's next for 2025. YouTube highlighted that TVs have become the primary way users interact with the platform and view content.
Elsewhere, YouTube talked about its "big bets" for the year, which include "algorithmically" estimating a user's age on the platform. The platform already includes several safety rails for managing a user's age to avoid seeing unwanted content. Parents can also deploy a few parental controls to help keep things within a comfortable scope.
YouTube did not elaborate on its plan to do this, but we will likely see the results later this year.
